Valley Women Flatten Santa Barbara With 2nd-Half Zone Press

A minor defensive adjustment sometimes can make a major difference in a basketball game.

The Valley College women’s team proved that in an 80-53 victory over Santa Barbara City in a first-round game of the South playoff regional Wednesday night at Valley.

“We changed our press (at halftime),” Valley Coach Doug Michelson said. “We were in a man-to-man (press) in the first half. We got some real dividends out of our zone press in the second half.”

The Monarchs (30-4) used the new defensive alignment to turn a 34-26 lead at the half into a runaway. Valley, seeded fifth, advanced to a second-round game Saturday against Harbor, a 98-60 winner Wednesday over Bakersfield.

It was the second victory for Valley over the Vaqueros (17-14) this season. The Monarchs, the Western State Conference South Division champions, beat Santa Barbara, 74-65, in a conference interdivision game Jan. 9.

This time, the game was close for only a while.

Valley built a 24-12 lead in the first half, but the Vaqueros rallied to within eight at the half.

Then the Monarch press and rebounding superiority created scoring opportunities Valley didn’t waste. Valley forced 11 second-half turnovers.

“We didn’t attack the press very well and we got beat on the offensive board,” Vaquero Coach Ellen O’Connor said. “They are an excellent team.”

Michelson, who uses a 10-player rotation, substituted freely. All 12 Valley players who saw action scored, led by starting center Amy Horst and backup forward Jeanie Russell, each of whom had 11 points. Guard Rosa Mendez added 10.

Horst (seven rebounds) and Russell (six rebounds) also were effective on the boards, along with forward Luscinda Silva, who had a team-high eight.

“We try to send five players to the defensive boards, so we have 10 hands up there,” Michelson said.

The hands of the Valley players also created havoc with the Vaquero offense, intercepting several passes and converting many of the turnovers into points. Starting point guard Angie Quezada had three steals for Valley, and four other Monarchs each had two.

Valley shot 49.3% (37 for 75) from the field, and Santa Barbara, which was led by forward Mica Saferite with 20 points and nine rebounds, shot 37.5% (21 for 56).